Holliston students call for graduation boycott

Thursday

May 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2007 at 11:53 PM

Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

Students are rallying behind the seniors, three of whom took credit on thefacebook.com for hacking into the school's computer network, breaking into the school and Principal Mary Canty's office using a master key, and moving her desk into the hallway last Monday.

Students not involved in the break-in are currently at Martha's Vineyard for senior week before graduation Sunday.

After finding the principal's desk, along with several other items, had been moved into a corridor and left to resemble a crime scene, police are conducting a "lengthy investigation" into the break-ins and will likely press criminal charges by week's end, Police Chief Thomas Lambert said.

"Aww... this is horrible! You shouldn't have to go through this. It's just a senior prank? Right?" one high school student said, attempting to console a friend who confessed to the pranks on the Web site.

Students vowed to help the pranksters, self-dubbed, "the mastermind," "the muscle," and "Public Enemy #1."

"If we could boycott the real graduation since the valedictorian can't speak, and I'm sure we don't want to hear another boring speaker," suggested one student.

Several of the seniors who took credit for the pranks/break-ins expressed serious regret, one saying, "This was incredibly stupid on our part and probably the worst mistake I have ever made."

One senior wrote a poem reflecting on his handiwork: "Now napping and regretting what I've done, I did not mean to deceive anyone. To say, 'twas just a prank' is not quite fair, More effort, thus more pain were plainly there. While proud I stand to have accomplished such, The penalties and trust lost are too much. Woe be to any who would so confess, 'Yes, this is how I stole Ms. Canty's desk!"'

A peer not involved lamented that the valedictorian cannot give a speech Sunday as a consequence of the pranks: "Such a shame," adding, "I still applaud you guys, someone actually pulled a decent prank for once."

Another started a petition on behalf of the Class of 2007 urging administrators to reconsider the punishments given to "these... brilliant and upstanding young men for the mistake they made in carrying out what they perceived to be a relatively harmless prank."

Neither Jackson nor Canty were available for comment yesterday, and Canty's office would not release information about Sunday's graduation ceremony, or the valedictorian.

Responding to some students' belief that authorities are being extra tough on the responsible seniors in order to make an example of them, Police Chief Lambert said, "I don't think that anyone's going after the kids zealously."

"I understand in their minds they think it was a prank," he said.

Those under investigation for the incidents now understand that breaking into the school and breaching the computer system were not simply pranks, he said.

In a press release, Lambert also noted that the suspects compromised the security of the school building, the security of the computer system, and consequently all the school locks had to be replaced, and every password on the computer network had to be changed, Lambert said.

Students may interpret authorities' response to the break-ins as extreme, Lambert said, but their actions warrant the investigation and possible criminal charges. "I don't apologize. If you do something like this, if you go over the line, that's how we'll deal with it. ... We'll go to court," he said.

Lambert expects to know whether police will press criminal charges by the end of the week, which would include: misdemeanors of breaking and entering, identity fraud (use of personal identifying information), unauthorized access to a computer system, and a felony of possession of a burglarious tool (the master key).

The students who took credit for the pranks thanked their peers for the support.

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